AVi8
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Generating post H5N8-MF59 vaccine sera for immunological testing against future emergent HPAI strains
IRAS ID
372362
Contact name
Ghazal Ebrat
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City St George's University of London, Research and Innovation Services
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The orthomyxovirus H5N8 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype (HPAI). It has been implicated in severe disease in poultry in countries worldwide, including the UK, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Japan and Russia. H5Ny strains are constantly evolving. More recently, strains have exhibited concerning amino acid substitutions that may enhance their ability to bind to receptors preferred by human influenza viruses. It follows that H5N8 has the potential to cause a future pandemic in humans. The Zoonotic Influenza Vaccine Seqirus (ZIVS) is an inactivated surface antigen vaccine. It works by inducing antibodies against haemagglutinins (surface proteins found on influenza viruses) of H5 subtype influenza A viruses. It is a two-dose vaccine. It has been tested in multiple clinical trials and is currently licensed in Europe. It has been shown to be effective in inducing protective levels of antibodies against H5N1. However, multiple H5Ny strains currently pose a global pandemic threat, and it is difficult to predict which of the many strains will mutate to become a threat to human health.
This study aims to generate H5N8 vaccine sera and PBMCs which can be used as reference material for future H5Ny assays in preparedness for a pandemic.REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
26/WA/0205
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jul 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion